It's a sweltering summer night and the kids or the spouse or the dog is cranky, bored and wilted and your sweet tooth is calling. Looming before you is a long, steamy night ahead. Beat the heat and satisfy your craving quickly with a visit to Penelope's, downtown Chappaqua, a jaunt to Mount Kisco's tried and true Ben and Jerry's or Bellizi's gelato bar. Or, for a longer outing, cool your heels at one of several nearby ice cream parlors.

A leisurely drive up Route 9A will lead you towards Croton-on-Hudson and the Blue Pig Ice Cream Factory although it's easy to miss when you drive by. It looks I like not much more than a stand (open seasonally March-November) but the owner makes the fresh Ice cream in the back. There are special kid-friendly flavors (as if they were needed) such as Blue Pig, a blue tint- ed vanilla with M&Ms, Butterfinger, with crushed candy, and Funky Monkey, banana with chocolate chunks and nuts.

The Blue Pig also offers a wide range of the 4 $'s, sundaes, shakes, splits and smoothies, the latter made with antioxidants, which may make you feel just a bit more virtuous about the whole outing. Cone prices range from $1.80 (kid cone), $2.75 (small) to $3.95 (large). When the grill is on, hotdogs and hamburgers make it a meal. Three each of long benches and picnic tables are set outdoors to accommodate the customers, many of whom are walk-ins from the surrounding neighborhood.

Sapori D'Italia is located on a nondescript strip of Route 133 about 2 1/2 miles from Millwood, but the ambience and the superb gelato transport you to Rome (or at least to Manhattan's Little Italy). The authentic wrap-around bar, imported espresso machine, Seggafredo promotional napkin dispensers, even authentic ice cream tubs and mini-spatula shaped spoons create the ambiance. You know you're not in New Castle any more.

Gelato is homemade from imported ingredients in two machines in the back of the store and it's out of this World. Typically gelato has less air and is made with milk or a lower butterfat cream than ice cream, resulting in a lighter, creamier texture. Sapori D'Italia's vanilla is like a melted block of white chocolate but not too sweet. Mint chocolate chip contains large slivers of chocolate but is a florescent green. Wildberry is a burst of fresh berry flavor, the most intense of the 10 fruit flavors made with fresh fruit, water and sugar. Unique summer treats include gelato lemonade, a refreshing mixture of homemade lemonade combined with any fruit gelato. For an authentic Italian drink, order a soda or cappuccino made with your choice of syrup flavors. Prices for cups of gelato, range from $2.85-$3.95. Available seating: seven tables inside or benches out side.

Fanda's Pop Shop is an amusing new addition to downtown Pleasantville. On a frigid day this past November, Fanda Nikic and her husband bravely opened her eponymous store, and it's a retro treat. The 50s pervade Fanda's graphics, decor, and unique candy offerings including packages of gummy bugs, huge lollipops and a colorful pucker powder candy art machine.

Not surprisingly, this mini Willy Wonkaville seems to delight all that enter. The ice cream tastes like it was freshly churned in the back of the store but is actually the Double Rainbow brand from San Francisco. Double Rainbow does not whip excess air into the ice cream, which creates a thick and dense consistency, so we were able to leisurely finish our servings before they began to melt. Two vanillas are offered, vanilla bean and French vanilla, the latter billed as sweeter with more of a custard consistency. However, even on our second visit, we found the vanilla bean sweeter. The two chocolates are milk chocolate, a blend of vanilla and chocolate and ultra chocolate, which is deep and dark. My husband and daughter, both chocolate chip mint aficionados, voted it the best they'd had, for both texture and flavor. They will be offering seasonal flavors, such as pumpkin. My children got a kick out of The Original Shirley Temple Beverage, a new soda made in Pleasantville, with a cherry in each individual bottle.

And yes, if the retro soda fountain looks familiar to film buffs, it's because it was used in the first Godfather movie, according to Fanda. Cones, small to large are $2.25 to $3.95. Seating for 16 is available.

A half hour trip over the Hudson River brings you to the cute, funky town of Nyack, home to a branch of Boston's Emack & Bolio's. On a summer evening, buy advance tickets for children's summer stock performances at the Helen Hayes Theatre Company a block away, or bring your ice cream to nearby Memorial Park, where the kids can I run and you can enjoy the Mostly Music concerts on summer Tuesday evenings. A stroll down Main Street offers great window-shopping. At Emack & Bolio's, the big draw for children is the special cones, which are dipped in chocolate, then encrusted with a variety of candies.

The Chocolate Moose (their basic chocolate) is superb, made with a mixture of chocolate, chocolate liqueur, and cocoa. Our scoop of Vanilla Bean Speck seemed bland by comparison. Some flavor choices, while quite innovative, can be overly sweet for some adult palates. These include Caramel Moose Prints (butterscotch ice cream, caramel swirl and chocolate peanut butter cup) and Purple Cow (black raspberry ice cream with white chocolate chips and blueberries). Among the range of sorbets offered, we found Passion Fruit to be the best combination of sweet and refreshing with a zing of flavor. All-natural hot fudge and micro-brewed soda are special offerings and the store's most unique variation on frozen treats is their made to order fresh fruit soft serve. Scoops of ice cream range from $2.75 - $4. Available seating: Tables inside, benches outside.

So when the mercury's high and a supermarket tub won't do the trick, a short drive transports you to a cooler, sweeter world.

MARGO RUDMAN GOLD is a freelance writer and ice cream addict.

Locations and Summer Hours

Belizzi
53 Main Street, Mount Kisco (914) 241-1200
Sun - Thu: 11 a.m. - 9 p.m. Fri - Sat: 11 a.m. - 10 p.m.

Ben & Jerry's
639 E Main Street, Mount Kisco (914) 666-2555
Mon - Thu: 11 a.m. - 11 p.m. Weekend: 11 a.m. - Midnight

Blue Pig Ice Cream Factory
121 Maple Street, Croton-on-Hudson (914) 271-3850
Mon - Thu: 11 a.m. - 9 p.m. Fri & Sat: 11 a.m. - 10 p.m. Sun: noon - 9 p.m.

Emack & Bolio's
102 Main Street (845) 353-9841
Sun - Thu: 11 a.m. - 9 p.m. Weekend: noon - Midnight

Fanda's Pop Shop
11 Wheeler Ave, Pleasantville (914) 747-9797
Sun - Thu: 11 a.m. - 10 p.m. Fri - Sat: 11 a.m. - 11 p.m.

Penelope's Country Kitchen
31 S Greeley Ave., Chappaqua (914) 238-0690
Mon - Thu: Noon - 8 p.m. Weekend: Noon - 9 p.m.

Sapori D'Italia
181 Croton Ave., Ossining (914) 923-0501


Inside Chappaqua July/August 2004